Newsletter

Jack Del Rio a tough call for Wayne Weaver

Wayne Weaver might as well be in handcuffs. The Jaguars owner wants to be in the playoffs, hopes to eventually win a Super Bowl, but knows that it’s unrealistic unless his average quarterback and average head coach find a way to elevate what Weaver described as an “average” football team.

Let’s not mince adjectives or allow anger from this season’s 0-4 finish to alter reality. Del Rio called David Garrard a “middle-tier” NFL quarterback this week, which aptly describes himself as a head coach. When you look at the resume of Garrard (31-31 as a starter), Del Rio (58-57 record) and the Jaguars overall, they’re right in the NFL middle.

Not great (except sometimes against the Pittsburgh Steelers). Not bad (except on certain road trips). They’re just OK, and that’s not enough to generate real buzz in a small market.

Now combine that with a disenchanted fan base — one that left more than 20,000 seats empty at most home games in 2009 and is now howling to pay off the $15-plus million left on Del Rio’s contract —and you start to understand why Weaver is in a terrible fix.

If he were to dump Del Rio, it’d look like a knee-jerk reaction to appease the loudest segment of fans, many who might not be purchasing tickets anyway. And if Weaver brings back his coach for an eighth season, which he’s presumably doing without publicly declaring it, that’s a tough sell with customers seething over the team’s December swoon.

The bottom line is Weaver can’t ignore his bottom line. With his franchise absorbing record financial losses, it’s hard to picture paying off Del Rio and then investing millions of dollars in another coach who brings a new rebuilding dynamic.

Even if the Jaguars could hire Bill Cowher, what makes anyone think that would fill the stadium? The fans screamed to fire Tom Coughlin in 2002, and after Weaver gave them their wish, there was no attendance spike with Del Rio’s arrival.

Remember when Jaguars fans were clamoring for Weaver to hire ex-Florida coach Steve Spurrier? Yeah, that’s the ticket. Worked out real well for the Redskins.

I’m not suggesting that keeping Del Rio is the best answer, but there weren’t a whole lot of protest marches when Weaver handed him a four-year, $21 million extension that kicked in this past year. Coming off an 11-5 season and being one win away from the 2007 AFC title game, Del Rio was then at the top of his game.

Now the way this season ended has a lot of folks in an emotional tizzy. But is Weaver supposed to ignore being in the playoff hunt through Christmas with 16 rookies and 33 new players on the roster? Or the severance check amount if he fired Del Rio? Or that a NFL lockout is looming in 2011 and how it might impact the Jaguars’ future?

There’s so much on this franchise’s plate now. It’s probably a good thing that Weaver waits until next week to have that heart-to-heart talk with Del Rio about the 2009 season. Let emotions settle so clear, rational thinking prevails.

Still, it doesn’t change Weaver’s dilemma. With what looks like a tougher schedule next year, he must hope there’s enough improvement for his coach and quarterback to rise above their averageness.